Speaker 1: It's time for coffee and company, fueled by Thornton's on
Speaker 1: Sports Talk seven nine day. Now here's Nick coffee.
Speaker 2: All right, let's get the five o'clock hours started. Here
Speaker 2: at a beautiful Tuesday afternoon, the sun is shining. We've
Speaker 2: got postseason basketball on. It's not great action, it's not
Speaker 2: great teams, but hey, it's it's March, it's winter or
Speaker 2: go home for a for a lot of teams playing today,
Speaker 2: because let's say today's games don't include any team that
Speaker 2: could get in if they if they lose today, right,
Speaker 2: I mean, there's nobody from the ACC that's getting in
Speaker 2: without winning the whole tournament outside of honestly, Louisville. I
Speaker 2: mean Louisville, Clemson, and Duke are clearly in, and then
Speaker 2: maybe Carolina could get in just because of the bubble
Speaker 2: bouncing their way. But outside of those four, I mean
Speaker 2: Wake Forest and SMU, I don't think they can get
Speaker 2: enough good wins from now until Saturday, if orse, they
Speaker 2: even do that to where they would be able to
Speaker 2: find themselves in.
Speaker 3: So yeah, I mean, it's not.
Speaker 2: Great action today, but hey, it's it's college hoops and
Speaker 2: it's when it's winner go home, you can tell, like
Speaker 2: there's an emphasis clearly for these teams that I'm watching
Speaker 2: right now, and whoever wins this will get a chance
Speaker 2: to play tomorrow, and the winner of that game will
Speaker 2: take on Louisville. So right now looks like it is
Speaker 2: is it still tied?
Speaker 3: It was tied?
Speaker 1: Uh?
Speaker 2: Last I checked, it's close between Cal and UH and
Speaker 2: and who's who is it Cal? Who's Cal playing Virginia Tech. Yes,
Speaker 2: that's how quickly I forget, because again, I you know,
Speaker 2: not to say that, you know, Louisville can overlook anybody,
Speaker 2: because they almost lost to Virginia Tech. But you know,
Speaker 2: like if if if Louisville is even close to who
Speaker 2: we think they are, they they should be able. Upsets happened,
Speaker 2: of course, but I mean, I haven't thought a whole
Speaker 2: lot about whoever it's going to be, But it's either
Speaker 2: going to be one of these three teams, because the
Speaker 2: winner of this Virginia Tech CAL game will play Standford tomorrow,
Speaker 2: and the winter that one will be Louisvill's opponent on Thursday.
Speaker 2: And then once Louisville gets past them, of course, if
Speaker 2: they do, I mean I assume they would. Well that's
Speaker 2: where Friday could set up for a rematch with Clemson,
Speaker 2: which will give you I mean, look, it's worked out
Speaker 2: to where it will still be a valuable win. I mean,
Speaker 2: it's gonna be another quad one, but not just a
Speaker 2: quad one, because you know it barely hit the range
Speaker 2: of what makes a quad one a quad one. But
Speaker 2: it will be a neutral sit win against a Clemson
Speaker 2: team that only has suffered one loss since you beat them,
Speaker 2: and oh.
Speaker 3: By the way, they beat Duke.
Speaker 2: So there'd be a real value there, in fact, more
Speaker 2: value than I probably have been considering.
Speaker 3: But I don't know.
Speaker 2: There's just something about it being like if Louisville you'd
Speaker 2: rather have two wins against Clemson than one, considering Clemson's
Speaker 2: your best win. But I also just the thought of
Speaker 2: flexing your best wins being the same team twice. I mean,
Speaker 2: more than anything, it would just show how new teams
Speaker 2: you played in your league that gave you.
Speaker 3: The chance to get any value.
Speaker 2: But yeah, a Duke rematch would be awesome, and I
Speaker 2: don't know what would happen. And I don't feel good
Speaker 2: about Louisville's chances because I think Duke's that good, But
Speaker 2: I think they'd compete and I mean.
Speaker 3: Let's see.
Speaker 2: I die to see what they could do if they
Speaker 2: played against a team like that, because you know, you
Speaker 2: never I mean, I don't want to get ahead of
Speaker 2: ourselves here, but like if Louisville plays Duke in the
Speaker 2: ACC tournament, I mean you could you know, let's just
Speaker 2: say hypothetically you pulled off the big upset, Well, then
Speaker 2: you could still lose early in the tournament and that
Speaker 2: would be you know. So what I'm getting at is
Speaker 2: just you don't know if you're going to get another
Speaker 2: big test with this team, and I have no clue
Speaker 2: what happens.
Speaker 3: It'd be a bummer if they played and they got killed.
Speaker 2: But man, I I'd rather watch and find out than
Speaker 2: just not play them at all.
Speaker 3: Right, Like maybe a beat down would hurt your.
Speaker 2: Resume, but I mean I selfishly, I would take the
Speaker 2: risk just as a fan because I love this group
Speaker 2: so much. That's one of the things that really hasn't
Speaker 2: been talked about a lot, and it's not really been
Speaker 2: on my mind because you know, I'm living in the moment,
Speaker 2: enjoying this team and everything that's come with this awesome season.
Speaker 3: But that is sort of a.
Speaker 2: Kicker to where like if they end up losing to Duke,
Speaker 2: and then they lose in the round of thirty two,
Speaker 2: I'll still love these guys.
Speaker 3: There's nothing that could change that. This season's been awesome.
Speaker 1: Man.
Speaker 3: It couldn't have been really much better.
Speaker 2: Honestly, even though if you throw this scenario at somebody
Speaker 2: a year ago, nobody believe you, no matter who the
Speaker 2: coach was, honestly, and they probably would have believed you
Speaker 2: less at the time when they found that it was
Speaker 2: Pat Kelsey. Just to be real at that time, so
Speaker 2: to not ever get them to not ever have another
Speaker 2: chance to see them go against one of the best
Speaker 2: when one we would embrace that challenge, that opportunity, at
Speaker 2: least we would as a fan base, That's what I mean.
Speaker 2: And I have no clue what's gonna happen. It's not like, hey,
Speaker 2: you give me Duke, we'll beat them down. I hope so,
Speaker 2: but I don't know. Again, they're good. I think they've
Speaker 2: got a legitimate chance to win this whole thing. One
Speaker 2: of very few teams I would say that about. So,
Speaker 2: you know, knowing that it could potentially be bad doesn't
Speaker 2: keep me in any way from being, you know, super
Speaker 2: excited about the opportunity. If, of course the opportunity is there,
Speaker 2: you're gonna have to get to the championship game. Of course,
Speaker 2: Doorks Duke's gonna have to win as well. But I
Speaker 2: mean they just kind of said like if they never
Speaker 2: get a chance to really get a big test, and look,
Speaker 2: they've been tested by teams that we know aren't very good.
Speaker 2: But I also think part of that's just the human
Speaker 2: element of sports to where not that they're out there complacent,
Speaker 2: and they've never been complacent enough to where it's actually
Speaker 2: cost them a game. So now I'm kind of thinking, yeah,
Speaker 2: help bring them on. Let's hope that they get Duke,
Speaker 2: just because man, I don't want to. I don't want
Speaker 2: this thing to end with this great special group that
Speaker 2: I love watching play with me not having another opportunity
Speaker 2: to see them really go up against one.
Speaker 3: Of the best.
Speaker 2: And look, if they get past Duke somehow and pull
Speaker 2: off that upset and they still lose early in the tournament,
Speaker 2: that would suck, and you'd feel like even more under
Speaker 2: You feel underwhelmed more so just because you're thinking, how
Speaker 2: can we beat Duke on a neutral court, which wouldn't
Speaker 2: be neutral. You'd be in Charlotte, and yet we lose
Speaker 2: in the round of thirty two to some you know,
Speaker 2: to a five seed or something, whatever it may be.
Speaker 2: I mean again, that would feel like, man, we should
Speaker 2: have won because again we beat Duke. But oh, either way,
Speaker 2: like you'll use your brain like a lot of people
Speaker 2: do when the emotion wears off, and you'll realize, hey,
Speaker 2: yeah we fell short. But man, like I feel not
Speaker 2: that anybody needs it, because I'm sure fans aren't even
Speaker 2: really thinking about it. But if you are somebody that
Speaker 2: does sort of seek validation that this team is as
Speaker 2: good as you believe they are, are an early loss
Speaker 2: in the tournament, the big dance wouldn't be as would
Speaker 2: not would not steer me away from being confident in
Speaker 2: this group and feeling good about them if I knew
Speaker 2: that they got passed to because I think that good
Speaker 2: about I think that I think Duke's that good. So
Speaker 2: I didn't even do it to make a joke, but
Speaker 2: I did slip up there and almost said dork instead
Speaker 2: of Duke, and it kind of is one of the
Speaker 2: same and flowed well, yeah, it would.
Speaker 3: Have flowed very well.
Speaker 2: They've got a real dork running their social media account.
Speaker 2: Which it's not John Shire. There's no way because it's
Speaker 2: just not I mean, it would be it would be
Speaker 2: weird if he wanted to manage the social media accounts
Speaker 2: of DO Basketball. He's the head coach, but you would
Speaker 2: think that he has say so and what is being
Speaker 2: put out there because look, that's an extension of him.
Speaker 2: He represents the program. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram. That's how a
Speaker 2: lot of people get all their information. They're glued to
Speaker 2: their phones, right, So you're using that as a vehicle
Speaker 2: to you know, show people what you're about. Not only
Speaker 2: you know, sharing highlights and sharing stats, information on your team,
Speaker 2: that kind of stuff, but you know, just kind of
Speaker 2: you know, using that platform to better connect and really
Speaker 2: express who you are as a program. And again, it
Speaker 2: all starts with the guy running the show, which is
Speaker 2: John Shire. So to see, after Pat Kelsey was named
Speaker 2: ACC Coach of the Year yesterday, Duke already have a
Speaker 2: full prepared batch of content highlighting all of Shire's accomplishments
Speaker 2: and all of Duke's accomplishments. And then you know doing
Speaker 2: the I'm not really I'm not really bothered by it
Speaker 2: because you know, it's about as surprising as all the
Speaker 2: years coach Cay didn't win it, but by going through
Speaker 2: all the effort that you went through and doing something
Speaker 2: that nobody does using the official team accounts to put
Speaker 2: that stuff out there, you very much blatantly put it
Speaker 2: on your forehead.
Speaker 3: Whoever it is.
Speaker 2: It might as well be on Shire's forehead because they'reagging
Speaker 2: him in it, which I cannot believe he's getting tagged
Speaker 2: in this without him either one being the guy that's
Speaker 2: like wanting them to do this for his ego or
Speaker 2: his insecurity, whatever it may be, or clearly being okay with.
Speaker 3: It, like a lot of people have said, is it
Speaker 3: still up? Is it still up? That speaks to like
Speaker 3: how everybody's aware that this is just.
Speaker 2: Not a normal thing for an official account on social
Speaker 2: media to just be boohoo in about an award that
Speaker 2: that you know, the other guy won because he was
Speaker 2: more qualified for what the award? Is it really the
Speaker 2: fact that they look at it as like a disrespect
Speaker 2: to Shier God, it speaks to insecurity that I never
Speaker 2: knew Duke had because you know, Duke's Duke.
Speaker 3: Hey, you just kind of let that brand speak for itself.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, and honestly, somebody else made this one
Speaker 2: on the text line, because everybody just kind of knows
Speaker 2: what this award is. And again I'm not gonna act
Speaker 2: like it just goes to code like it's it's a
Speaker 2: backhanded compliment, because I saw some big blue bozos saying
Speaker 2: that yesterday on on on Twitter, you know, because a
Speaker 2: lot of people getting in the weeds here to kind
Speaker 2: of like look at Duke and think like why would
Speaker 2: they put this out from their official account? And there
Speaker 2: was somebody on there might have been that dressed and
Speaker 2: roland guy who works for Rivals, and he acted like
Speaker 2: it's really a backhanded compliment because they're telling you that
Speaker 2: they didn't think you were any good and you you know,
Speaker 2: you did a little better than they expected, and like
Speaker 2: that that's like the most like obvious way you're trying
Speaker 2: to be like indirect but man, like you're bothered as well.
Speaker 3: But Kelsey won it because.
Speaker 2: You wouldn't be able to hide your big blue boner
Speaker 2: if your boy Pope went SEC Coach of the Year.
Speaker 2: And you know, I'm right, and look, you should always
Speaker 2: praise your coach for winning awards that kind of stuff.
Speaker 2: So anyways, like it's just odd for them to be
Speaker 2: that bothered by it. But again, Kelsey, and I know
Speaker 2: I'm sounding like the ultimate Homer here and look for
Speaker 2: Pat Kelsey. I'll be honest with you. I think I
Speaker 2: am the ultimate Homer. I think I could be fair,
Speaker 2: I can be honest, but clearly I'm a fan like
Speaker 2: anybody else has been. This has been awesome. I don't
Speaker 2: think I could ever be mad at this team. That's
Speaker 2: how much I appreciate them bringing us back to life.
Speaker 2: So you know, with all that said, when you look
Speaker 2: at how good Louisville was this year, and look right now,
Speaker 2: we can't determine if the twenty five and six record
Speaker 2: is as good as we think it is, because again
Speaker 2: they've only been playing acc teams. But this is a
Speaker 2: regular season award. You can't wait until the postseason to
Speaker 2: then determine. Okay, was there twenty five and six as
Speaker 2: good as it looked on paper?
Speaker 3: Right? Like, you can't do that. So Louisville is a
Speaker 3: twenty five.
Speaker 2: And sixteen, that's top fifteen in the AP pole, in
Speaker 2: the Coach's poll, and they were projected by everybody to
Speaker 2: be one of the worst teams in a bad league.
Speaker 2: I mean they were picked like ninth and eleventh by
Speaker 2: different people who voted, and they finished one game out
Speaker 2: of first place. So I mean, I don't really think
Speaker 2: you know, no matter how you want to look at
Speaker 2: the award, if you understand it, it's both right, a
Speaker 2: good coach who coached a team that had success and
Speaker 2: was good, but also you believe that that success for
Speaker 2: the team, the biggest factor was more so because of
Speaker 2: the coaching than anything else.
Speaker 3: That's how you give this award out. That's just that's
Speaker 3: the way it mostly is.
Speaker 2: And you know, if Kelsey would have been, you know,
Speaker 2: instead of eighteen and two, let's say he was thirteen
Speaker 2: and seven, that still would have been good. That still
Speaker 2: would have been a good sign for Louisville. And at
Speaker 2: that point, I think it might have been more of okay,
Speaker 2: were they good enough? Like if they were thirteen and
Speaker 2: seven but not in the tournament safely and they had
Speaker 2: some really bad losses to the terrible teams, then you
Speaker 2: could certainly make the case that Shire would be more deserving.
Speaker 2: But again, when you've got somebody who did finish one
Speaker 2: game behind you, and he doesn't have three top ten
Speaker 2: NBA picks, you believe that his coaching and what he's
Speaker 2: been able to work with was a real factor in
Speaker 2: them being eighteen and two. You were nineteen and one
Speaker 2: and probably should have been undefeated. You probably shouldn't have
Speaker 2: lost anybody in this league because you know, you've got
Speaker 2: players that nobody else in this league has. So I
Speaker 2: don't know, I just I can't imagine, like Duke's a
Speaker 2: very weird program in general. And I don't mean that
Speaker 2: as an insult, although I've insulted in plenty today. I'm
Speaker 2: just saying, like, you know, they're like they're weird, like
Speaker 2: they they they're a small school. They don't have a
Speaker 2: huge fan base in their own area. I mean they
Speaker 2: just don't. I mean they have some. They clearly have
Speaker 2: a big student section that actually it's not that big,
Speaker 2: to be honest with this, the tiny gym. I mean
Speaker 2: it's a tiny student section, to be honest with you.
Speaker 3: So in being in.
Speaker 2: Durham, like Duke is kind of you know, you know
Speaker 2: that Duke is there as far as the university, but
Speaker 2: like a lot of their alone don't live in that area.
Speaker 2: They live in like the Northeast or you know, it's
Speaker 2: kids who grew up in Carolina. Seemingly a lot of
Speaker 2: them go to NC State or UNC. They don't go
Speaker 2: to Duke. I mean some of them probably do. It's
Speaker 2: not like nobody does, but you know, they to me,
Speaker 2: they would have like they they are actually a program
Speaker 2: that I think would genuinely have a tough time with
Speaker 2: some self awareness because they're not really like they don't
Speaker 2: have the like their generation of fans is different than
Speaker 2: most because I mean, let's be real, Duke is coach K.
Speaker 3: That's all it is.
Speaker 2: And now they've extended the coach K lifeline here with
Speaker 2: one of his former players, and Shire is a good coach.
Speaker 2: Shire may be really successful long term. I wouldn't be
Speaker 2: shocked at all. But like they're like, Duke is coach K.
Speaker 2: That's all you have. Like there's no I mean, not
Speaker 2: only is he the only coach has been successful, Like
Speaker 2: he's really been the only coach like you've ever had.
Speaker 2: Like there's other programs like Bobby Knight. He's the only
Speaker 2: guy that's been successful at Indiana, but there have been
Speaker 2: a lot of other guys that have done it, you
Speaker 2: know what I mean, So like there's generations it. So
Speaker 2: I don't know, I just to me, the more I
Speaker 2: think about it, they would be a program that I
Speaker 2: think wouldn't you know, maybe someone will say they just
Speaker 2: don't care. Maybe that's the case, or they wouldn't even realize, Like, hey,
Speaker 2: you know, that's a bad look. Because even if you
Speaker 2: feel that way, is if your guys should should have
Speaker 2: won it? Whoever believed, Like imagine the arrogance or the
Speaker 2: lack of awareness, maybe a little bit of both to
Speaker 2: not realize that, like this was going to end poorly.
Speaker 2: You want the conversation to shift to Shire got robbed,
Speaker 2: he got snubbed. Look at all these accomplishments. How could
Speaker 2: he not win it? You thought that was gonna be
Speaker 2: the takeaway. No, the conversation is actually, you know, in
Speaker 2: the toxic wasteland that is the Internet, it's not no
Speaker 2: longer about Shire or not winning it. It's not even
Speaker 2: about Pat Kelsey winning it. It's about how odd and
Speaker 2: just weird of a look it was for Duke to
Speaker 2: have social media content created to go online and fill
Speaker 2: up their diaper about Shy or not winning it. Like
Speaker 2: if Shire was just un like bothered because he's a competitor,
Speaker 2: Like I actually respect that because I get it.
Speaker 3: You know, your competitor, you want to win. But like
Speaker 3: if he's wanting.
Speaker 2: People to like, Like, put this way, if Shier's really
Speaker 2: that bothered by it, I would have more respect for
Speaker 2: it if he just came out and said it as
Speaker 2: press conference that he feels like he should have got it.
Speaker 2: Sure it would have been a people would have probably
Speaker 2: made fun of him, but like, at least that had
Speaker 2: been respectable. But like, and that's why I have a
Speaker 2: heart time thinking that he's actually orchestrating this. But I
Speaker 2: also have a hard time thinking that he's not, you know,
Speaker 2: supportive enough for them to continue to do it. Like,
Speaker 2: if you know how this kind of stuff works. As
Speaker 2: far as just what these accounts are like on social media,
Speaker 2: you probably said the same thing that I just mentioned
Speaker 2: a moment ago, Like people are asking they haven't taken
Speaker 2: that down yet, cause again it's just what's the risk
Speaker 2: reward there? You just look bitter, and who who looks
Speaker 2: good and bitter? Nobody I want to I don't want
Speaker 2: to wear bitterness ever.
Speaker 4: Well, not only that, because they were obviously kind of
Speaker 4: complaining and salty about the about the PKACC Coach of
Speaker 4: the Year, But did you see the posts that they
Speaker 4: wrote about I guess one of their players not winning
Speaker 4: the defensive way.
Speaker 2: It was Flag who didn't get it. So yeah, I'm
Speaker 2: glad you brought that up. I forgot to mention that
Speaker 2: one earlier and I did not read that one on
Speaker 2: the air. But yes, they sent out and I mean
Speaker 2: again that that speaks to they just knew that they're
Speaker 2: doubling down well. And what's crazy is that Cooper Flag
Speaker 2: won Player of the Year and Freshmen of the Year
Speaker 2: and I mean defensive player. I mean again, like he's
Speaker 2: good in every aspect, but like I don't think I
Speaker 2: mean again, he's good.
Speaker 3: He's a good defender.
Speaker 2: But for them to just I don't know, it's it's
Speaker 2: more so arrogance than anything else, I guess sure.
Speaker 3: And they're so.
Speaker 2: Arrogant that they probably like they're a program that I
Speaker 2: and they're Look, they're Duke. They are. They're one of
Speaker 2: the bigger brands you'll find. But they probably are the
Speaker 2: only or one of the only ACC. They're the only
Speaker 2: ACC team that doesn't care about this for their own reason,
Speaker 2: Like I think other teams, other teams in the league
Speaker 2: don't care if the ACC stinks because they just don't.
Speaker 3: They've never been good at basketball.
Speaker 2: They know they got to look in the mirror when
Speaker 2: it comes to the league, stinking right, because they're a
Speaker 2: big factor now. Louisville, of course was that for a
Speaker 2: couple of years, but I think everybody knew eventually loisll
Speaker 2: was gonna try to make some changes because they're not
Speaker 2: content with not being good in basketball. So everybody in
Speaker 2: the league, for the most part, I think wants the
Speaker 2: league to be better because it's better for everybody.
Speaker 3: I bet Duke didn't care.
Speaker 2: I bet Duke would be fine if everybody's stunk, because
Speaker 2: they're kind of in their own world, right, Like they're
Speaker 2: always gonna get brand bumped because they're Duke, and the
Speaker 2: only way they could ever eventually, I think, you know,
Speaker 2: and maybe they do want those opportunities because to get
Speaker 2: wins because they don't like the narrative. But Duke's the
Speaker 2: kind of program that doesn't care about the narrative. Duke,
Speaker 2: it's not the Duke. Duke, to me, is not one
Speaker 2: that would be bothered or even maybe even know that
Speaker 2: people are calling them the new Gonzaga.
Speaker 3: Right man, You're you look really good.
Speaker 2: You got a lot of talent, But for two and
Speaker 2: a half months you didn't get challenged when you get
Speaker 2: to the round of thirty two, it's gonna be wake
Speaker 2: up Tom. Just like Gonzaga when they lose to teams,
Speaker 2: you know, early in the earlier in the tournament than
Speaker 2: most would expect. And it's maybe not because they're not
Speaker 2: as good as you thought they were, but they hadn't
Speaker 2: had a test like that in three months. So like
Speaker 2: maybe Duke doesn't care about that, because again they're Duke.
Speaker 2: They're just in their own world and they're just different
Speaker 2: and weird. But them wanting all the wards, I mean,
Speaker 2: it's one thing to fight for your guy in campaign,
Speaker 2: for your coach or player because you want them to
Speaker 2: have the best because it's good for you and for them.
Speaker 2: But I mean the more so that they are just
Speaker 2: thinking like they're kind of you know, the the official
Speaker 2: program account thinking that they not only because by the way,
Speaker 2: I mean, let's put in this perspective, Austin, they have
Speaker 2: the league by itself, they won by themselves, they have
Speaker 2: the Player of the Year, the Freshmen of the year,
Speaker 2: and they that's not good enough to where they're they're
Speaker 2: complaining that they also didn't collect defensive player of the
Speaker 2: Year and Coach of the Year. So it cleans if
Speaker 2: there's somebody that wants to, you know, give the impression
Speaker 2: that everybody's wrong about the ACC, which that'd be a
Speaker 2: tough thing to lie to even yourself about, because we
Speaker 2: all know the league is down. But like you using
Speaker 2: your platform here your I mean, this is how you
Speaker 2: reach fans this day. By the way, it's the quickest
Speaker 2: way to reach your fans is to send out a
Speaker 2: tweet or an Instagram post or something like that. Right,
Speaker 2: So they're using that the official voice, essentially the official
Speaker 2: extension of their program, to say we need all the
Speaker 2: awards because everybody else in this league stinks and it's
Speaker 2: a travesty.
Speaker 3: What do they call it?
Speaker 2: With the you know, a snub, yes, or you know,
Speaker 2: this is what they said about the defensive Player of
Speaker 2: the Year. It shows an old computer, like an old
Speaker 2: computer from like, you know, pre internet computer. Yeah, it
Speaker 2: says a friend asked, with all due respect to the
Speaker 2: great defenders across the league, if this was the computer
Speaker 2: used to compile stats research for ACC Defensive Player of
Speaker 2: the Year consideration this year. So, I mean, you're like
Speaker 2: they're bothered by Chucky and Pat Kelsey. And here's what's crazy.
Speaker 2: Duke is better than Louis. Dou beat him when they
Speaker 2: came here, and Duke will probably beat him if they
Speaker 2: play him again. I mean, crazier things have happened, but
Speaker 2: let's just be real. But like they're thinking about Pat Kelsey,
Speaker 2: they're thinking about Chucky Hepburn, and it's one thing to
Speaker 2: I mean, I just think the unawareness to know that
Speaker 2: you look jealou peanut butter and jealous. It's just weird
Speaker 2: because again, you could you could have that feeling and
Speaker 2: keep it to yourself and like that's the best way
Speaker 2: to go about it, because that's how the majority of
Speaker 2: society is. But for you to want to wear publicly
Speaker 2: your jealousness is just so unusual. All right, Before we
Speaker 2: get to our next break, I do want to mention
Speaker 2: there's there's clearly some some some awful news from today
Speaker 2: that I still have yet to see any official update.
Speaker 3: However, earlier today Louisville Louisville legend.
Speaker 2: I mean, he's a legendary basketball player here and also
Speaker 2: with the Milwaukee Bucks and obviously a very successful businessman.
Speaker 2: And I don't need to give anybody any any introduction
Speaker 2: who Junior Bridgeman is. But he suffered a medical emergency.
Speaker 2: Earlier today when he was at an event at the
Speaker 2: Gold House speaking, He's actually being interviewed by wk wise
Speaker 2: Kent Taylor, and while being interviewed in front of one
Speaker 2: hundreds of people in attendance at this event, he had
Speaker 2: a medical emergency and you could hear him say to
Speaker 2: Kent that he believed he was having a heart attack.
Speaker 2: So he was taken away in an ambulance and went
Speaker 2: to the hospital. And again, I've not seen any update
Speaker 2: since earlier today as far as an official update. Now obviously, uh,
Speaker 2: there there are you know, there are people out there
Speaker 2: giving their own update, and I'm not doing that because
Speaker 2: that's irresponsible and I don't know, and I wouldn't even
Speaker 2: I mean, I have no I have no update on
Speaker 2: my end, and I'm sure if you look, you'll see
Speaker 2: others claiming this and that, and maybe they're right. I
Speaker 2: don't know, but that the latest we know is that
Speaker 2: that he's he suffered a medical emergency, and I don't know.
Speaker 2: I just I'm kind of grossed out by people who
Speaker 2: are just assuming that because of like prayers needed posts
Speaker 2: being sent out by former players, Like there's people that
Speaker 2: I know have no access to Junior Bridgeman or people
Speaker 2: within his world that are that are posting that he's
Speaker 2: passed and it's probably just like a safe guest because
Speaker 2: you want to look like you are breaking that kind
Speaker 2: of news. I mean, I don't believe many people are
Speaker 2: out here putting it out the and out of no
Speaker 2: clue that's even true or not. But like I don't know,
Speaker 2: just if somebody came in here and told me this
Speaker 2: big news that someone passed away, I would feel uncomfortable
Speaker 2: share breaking. And it's just you know, that's not my job.
Speaker 2: That's news, right, that's not this And the amount of
Speaker 2: people that just rush to social media in today's society
Speaker 2: to put out something that they know they have no
Speaker 2: way of confirming, and even if they feel like it
Speaker 2: may end up being right, because there's enough noise out
Speaker 2: there about it that it's probably true. Like if it
Speaker 2: ended up not being true, like I don't know, that's
Speaker 2: just where we are, Like nobody even thinks about things
Speaker 2: the same way anymore. But imagine like putting something out
Speaker 2: there like that, knowing that you didn't know for sure,
Speaker 2: and then just like okay, good, what was wrong?
Speaker 3: Okay?
Speaker 2: Well, you probably imagine somebody seeing that who you know
Speaker 2: found out that way from a rando. It's just disrespectful
Speaker 2: to like break.
Speaker 3: News of anybody losing their life or anything.
Speaker 2: I just, you know, it's one thing to share things
Speaker 2: after the fact, but I cannot imagine being somebody of
Speaker 2: finding out trad information about somebody that they love and
Speaker 2: they care about like that.
Speaker 3: I mean, there's no good way to get it. But
Speaker 3: I mean, anyways, we'll get to a break.
Speaker 2: If there is an update, I'll be sure to let
Speaker 2: you guys know, but I'm not going to put anything
Speaker 2: out there until it's official from those who you know
Speaker 2: do this for a living, that you know are are
Speaker 2: are well aware of a standard in a line you
Speaker 2: don't cross when it comes to sharing legitimate news that
Speaker 2: could be, you know, something as serious as loss of life.
Speaker 2: All right, quick break, coffee and company. Feel abou Thorton's
Speaker 2: right here on Sports Talk seven ninety.
Speaker 1: Now back to coffee and Company. Fueled by Thornton's on
Speaker 1: Sports Talk seven nine day.
Speaker 2: I don't think it's unfair to say that currently the
Speaker 2: Louisville and Kentucky football programs appear to have different paths
Speaker 2: momentum clearly going in one direction for Louisville and the
Speaker 2: other direction for Kentucky, and you know, maybe maybe that
Speaker 2: maybe that's a big change.
Speaker 3: After this year.
Speaker 2: But obviously Louisville coming on off a couple of really
Speaker 2: good seasons with brom. Even when Louisville did lose to Kentucky,
Speaker 2: I mean that was an upset and you know, that's
Speaker 2: the best win Stoops has ever had on the road,
Speaker 2: is it not. I mean, I don't know how good
Speaker 2: Louisville actually was overall. I mean, clearly they were good.
Speaker 2: But anyways, I mean, Kentucky has he fell apart last
Speaker 2: year and I don't really see a scenario where they should.
Speaker 2: They could be much better because the schedule is going
Speaker 2: to be even tougher, if you can believe it. And
Speaker 2: then I mean a lot of players who might have
Speaker 2: been you know, locker room issues and just guys you
Speaker 2: probably needed to get rid of for one reason or another.
Speaker 2: They were still talented to an extent, and that's not
Speaker 2: the end all be alright, Sometimes you don't need just talent.
Speaker 2: You need guys who do the right things. And you
Speaker 2: know it's not just about that. But with all that said,
Speaker 2: you know, Mark Stoops, I feel like one thing that
Speaker 2: he has always been able to do really well until
Speaker 2: recently was really just even if he's not having success,
Speaker 2: even when he wasn't good and they I mean when
Speaker 2: I don't mean like really good, I mean like even
Speaker 2: when he wasn't going to bowl games, I think he
Speaker 2: would talk to fans and they would find him real, relatable, likable,
Speaker 2: and that could buy him a lot. And then of course,
Speaker 2: you know, expectations got lifted a little bit higher. They
Speaker 2: started winning, and he got a lot of money, and
Speaker 2: then he started making comments about.
Speaker 3: Ponying up and you know, just you know, it just seems.
Speaker 2: As if last year was a real bad year for
Speaker 2: for for Mark Stoops all the way around. But today
Speaker 2: he went on with KSR and I haven't got a
Speaker 2: chance to listen to it, but I would imagine that
Speaker 2: he probably was aware that, hey, you know, as much
Speaker 2: as I do think these fans should appreciate me, because
Speaker 2: I you know, they're not where they used to be,
Speaker 2: and now that I'm here, you know, you gotta you
Speaker 2: gotta sell. I mean, if there's if there's anybody that
Speaker 2: that could be able to get fans excited interested more
Speaker 2: so than maybe they anticipated despite their.
Speaker 3: Being really no.
Speaker 2: I mean, I don't think they're going to have anything
Speaker 2: on the roster on paper by the time the season
Speaker 2: starts for this fan base to genuinely believe that they're
Speaker 2: going to be a decent team, just because again they
Speaker 2: lost good players and they did all right in the portal,
Speaker 2: I suppose, But I mean, I just think you I understand,
Speaker 2: if you're a Kentucky fan, why you wanted Stoops to
Speaker 2: potentially be shown the exit last year, not because you
Speaker 2: think he's terrible, but because you just feel like it's
Speaker 2: run its course. And I think you're you're you know,
Speaker 2: you're probably right in that in that regard. So anyways,
Speaker 2: what I'm getting at is, if there was somebody that
Speaker 2: could do it, it would be the head coach, right. And
Speaker 2: I'm not saying like it's an easy thing to do,
Speaker 2: but you know, if you hear your head coach talking
Speaker 2: and you remind yourself how much you like him and
Speaker 2: that he has been successful at times, and that you
Speaker 2: know he's right he does, you know, you know he's
Speaker 2: the guy. You may be wrong, he may get to
Speaker 2: next season and win fewer games, but you gotta at
Speaker 2: least try. And I know Matt has talked about it
Speaker 2: on KSR a couple of times since the season ended
Speaker 2: that Stops really never had any kind of like you know,
Speaker 2: State of the Union press conference or interview to kind of,
Speaker 2: you know, discuss how bad they were, and that really
Speaker 2: wouldn't have I mean, there's nothing you could say that's
Speaker 2: gonna change how bad they were. However, you know, you
Speaker 2: got it, You got to say something, because then what
Speaker 2: happens is people just assume that you're content and you're
Speaker 2: not that bothered by it if you're not gonna address
Speaker 2: it with us, and then you also run the risk of,
Speaker 2: you know, when you're not out there leading your program
Speaker 2: and being transparent as much as you you almost now
Speaker 2: have a responsibility and used to have, because you can't
Speaker 2: if you just sit back and never do interviews, never talk,
Speaker 2: never acknowledge anything.
Speaker 3: You just stay completely private.
Speaker 2: I mean, you run the risk of other people talking
Speaker 2: and speculating because I mean, like, for example, when things
Speaker 2: are going really bad, that's when speculation starts, and you
Speaker 2: have to balance it by you know, knowing that there's
Speaker 2: no words that's gonna change it. But just sitting back
Speaker 2: and ignoring things leads it to where people run with
Speaker 2: different narratives and you can't control it. At that point,
Speaker 2: people are gonna believe they wan't believe. So he did
Speaker 2: talk today, and I don't Again, I didn't hear the
Speaker 2: whole thing, but I do know that he talked about
Speaker 2: wanting to keep the Louisville game. If the SEC goes
Speaker 2: to nine. Doesn't mean it's gonna happen, but you know,
Speaker 2: he did acknowledge that it's going to be tough. But
Speaker 2: you know, I think he's aware. And again, this is
Speaker 2: what made no sense at all when it comes to
Speaker 2: the talk of like losing that like eliminating the game.
Speaker 2: It would give Kentucky a chance at a guaranteed win,
Speaker 2: and it would give them and it would give them
Speaker 2: a sure thing every year where they have a certain
Speaker 2: amount of home games, because when you when you do
Speaker 2: a home and home in a non conference game, you
Speaker 2: know one year you're gonna be at home, the next
Speaker 2: year you're gonna be on the road, and you having
Speaker 2: that every other year game on the road keeps you
Speaker 2: from being able to open up your gates on a
Speaker 2: Saturday and make a lot of money. That's a that's
Speaker 2: a money maker for these programs. So and money's always mattered.
Speaker 2: But now when you've got that twenty million dollar bill,
Speaker 2: you got to pay out to student athletes. Because you're
Speaker 2: sharing revenue, you're gonna do everything you can to bring
Speaker 2: in as much money and get creative in ways, and
Speaker 2: you know cut costs that kind of stuff.
Speaker 3: So you know it makes sense from that aspect. But
Speaker 3: who individually.
Speaker 2: Stands to gain iflllo of Thelle can tell you don't
Speaker 2: play each other in FOOTB No. One because Kentucky fans
Speaker 2: don't want the series to end, Louisville doesn't want the
Speaker 2: series to end. We all know deep down, if we're
Speaker 2: going to be honest with ourselves, that we put more
Speaker 2: value on it than we probably even realize in the
Speaker 2: moment because we're not elite programs when it comes to football.
Speaker 2: Maybe now with the twelve team playoff, that one of
Speaker 2: these teams could sneak in. I mean, Louisville could get
Speaker 2: there in the ACC with Kentucky. It's gonna be tough
Speaker 2: in the SEC, but there's a path, right, I mean
Speaker 2: they put twelve teams in now, so we can look
Speaker 2: at seven and five, eight and four, maybe even nine
Speaker 2: in three and know that if we got left out
Speaker 2: of the playoff with there's twelve teams going, Beating your
Speaker 2: rival is really going to be a chance to either
Speaker 2: validate your good season or maybe you know, think, well,
Speaker 2: not only do we fall short of the playoff, we
Speaker 2: freaking lost to Kentucky, or we lost to Louisville. So
Speaker 2: I mean, rivalries are what makes sports great, and there's
Speaker 2: just you know, and Mark stubes he's not scared at Louisville.
Speaker 2: I mean, maybe he will be down the line, And
Speaker 2: I don't even really say that seriously, because I don't
Speaker 2: think he's scared, but like he should know more than
Speaker 2: anybody how valuable that win can be to his fan base,
Speaker 2: because I think the majority of Mark Stoop's big, you know,
Speaker 2: big deposits he's made to Big Blue.
Speaker 3: Nation is beaten Louisville.
Speaker 2: And in football, I mean not to say he hasn't done
Speaker 2: other things that have been good for Kentucky's standard for
Speaker 2: over you know, forever, they've never been a big They've
Speaker 2: never been good in football really and now they at least,
Speaker 2: you know, for the most part, during the bulk of
Speaker 2: his tenure, they've been solid and more than anything that
Speaker 2: just I mean, they used to be the doormat of
Speaker 2: their league and now I mean they were that this
Speaker 2: past year, but I mean overall, they're now at least
Speaker 2: consistently not having losing seasons other than this past year,
Speaker 2: and that's a big step for them. So, you know,
Speaker 2: if he's doing that, Kentucky already feels like, man, this
Speaker 2: is a lot better than we were when we were
Speaker 2: irrelevant and terrible for decades. But now if he's beaten Louisville,
Speaker 2: then like, you know, not to say that, you just
Speaker 2: want to end it and you don't need any other
Speaker 2: success because you're you.
Speaker 3: Know, you're as happy as can be.
Speaker 2: But like we look and I have no problem admitting it,
Speaker 2: Louisville beating Kentucky, even when they stink, it means more.
Speaker 2: It feels better than beating anybody else because you know
Speaker 2: it's your rival. Now, last year it was a little
Speaker 2: bit different because you just had to get the cup back.
Speaker 2: Like there was no sing, like it was just it
Speaker 2: was really just a it's almost like an operation. Go
Speaker 2: up to Lexington and you know, ran sack on while
Speaker 2: they're terrible and the worst team in their own crappy league.
Speaker 2: You know, go just go go take what's yours, and
Speaker 2: you know, throw a few punches on your way out,
Speaker 2: like that's kind of what it was, because it wasn't
Speaker 2: really a game it was and in a weird way,
Speaker 2: Louisville actually could have won by double the amount it
Speaker 2: seemed like.
Speaker 3: But anyways, we'll see what happens. Money matters. Stoops.
Speaker 2: Maybe he's just saying this because you know, he thinks
Speaker 2: it's what fans want to hear. But deep down, that's
Speaker 2: why I've always just been kind of perplexed by the
Speaker 2: whole conversation, because again from the monetary thing, like it
Speaker 2: makes sense that you would want to make sure you're
Speaker 2: doing your best to make sure your bank account's looking
Speaker 2: good because you've got to pay players now, and you know,
Speaker 2: you've just got to be prepared. But also, I mean,
Speaker 2: that's the only way that you would ever make sense.
Speaker 2: And everybody else that has, like say so in the
Speaker 2: said in the decision to do it would benefit by
Speaker 2: the game continuing to be played. And would you know,
Speaker 2: everybody's going to be upset if he gets canceled. And
Speaker 2: here's the facts. If it does, the fingers are going
Speaker 2: to be pointed towards Mark Stoops and Mitch Barnhart, like
Speaker 2: Barnhart's the guy who you know, I guess directly would
Speaker 2: be who people think that it's about. But Mark Stoops
Speaker 2: gets whatever he wants from Mitch Barnot. That's been clear
Speaker 2: for years now. Look at how many different contracts this
Speaker 2: guy's got and that most wouldn't get. I mean, he
Speaker 2: can get whatever he wants, So it would be rich
Speaker 2: if if it ends up getting canceled and Stoops like
Speaker 2: tries to act like he had no.
Speaker 3: Control, Come on, you want to play the game.
Speaker 2: The game will be played. That's what it comes down to.
Speaker 2: A right quick break will wrap it up on the
Speaker 2: other side. Stick around right here on Sports Talk seven.
Speaker 1: Ninety now back to Coffee and Company, fueled by Thornton's
Speaker 1: on Sports Talk seven to nine day.
Speaker 2: So with fourteen minutes left in the second half, cal
Speaker 2: is up three on Virginia Tech thirty nine, thirty six,
Speaker 2: and again the winner of that game will play tomorrow
Speaker 2: against Stanford, and then the winner there will be Louisville's
Speaker 2: first opponent in the first ever postseason game with the
Speaker 2: Pack Hills here and it's nice to have that not
Speaker 2: be today, you know, the day of shame.
Speaker 3: It's a good place to be no doubt.
Speaker 2: All right, So looking at tonight's matchups again, it's it's
Speaker 2: not a day where you've got a lot of great
Speaker 2: teams playing, although you know, not elite teams by any means,
Speaker 2: but some of these teams playing today and even some
Speaker 2: teams that played last night could be some teams that
Speaker 2: maybe you know, play the role of Cinderella this year.
Speaker 2: But you've got more ACC games later today this evening,
Speaker 2: i should say. And then also the Big twelve tournament
Speaker 2: started today as well. Oklahoma State, I'm not sure, I
Speaker 2: don't remember who it was they played, but they lost
Speaker 2: earlier meeting their seasons over and then you've got Arizona
Speaker 2: State Kansas tonight. The rest of the SEC games are
Speaker 2: you got Custon Florida State at seven, and then at
Speaker 2: nine you've got here's the other ACC game or maybe
Speaker 2: they are they only doing three? Yeah?
Speaker 3: Maybe there, Yeah, there's only looks.
Speaker 2: Like there's only one more game in the ACC after
Speaker 2: this one here, and that's that's QS n FSU the
Speaker 2: rest of the matchups here. I mean, again, I won't
Speaker 2: sell this as if oh you better tune in because
Speaker 2: you're gonna miss out, But you know you and c
Speaker 2: Wilmington and Delaware played tonight in the CAAA championship game.
Speaker 2: You see Wilmington knocked off Charleston last night. Chris Max
Speaker 2: team I had a close one that they just fell
Speaker 2: short at the very end.
Speaker 3: Delaware though upset.
Speaker 2: I believe it was Towson who was the winner of
Speaker 2: the league in the regular season. So now the Delaware
Speaker 2: Blue Hens they could play Cinderella in their own league,
Speaker 2: which I like that league. I mean, I don't know why,
Speaker 2: but I've always I've always found myself kind of appreciated
Speaker 2: that level of hoops. Not to say that it's like elite,
Speaker 2: but you know, there's something and I can't explain it,
Speaker 2: but like the Missouri Valley they already had their conference
Speaker 2: tournament and Drake won that one earlier. In fact, it
Speaker 2: was on Sunday. But that's a league that were reasons
Speaker 2: I can't really explain. I just you know, I have
Speaker 2: an appreciation for one because like they care a lot
Speaker 2: about basketball despite being really small schools. So some other
Speaker 2: conference games tonight, as far as the championship games. In fact,
Speaker 2: there will be some tickets punched tonight.
Speaker 3: It'll be.
Speaker 2: Youngstown State and Robert Morris so Youngstown State is led
Speaker 2: by a Kentucky native, a twin one of the Faulkner brothers.
Speaker 2: I can't always get a mixed up, but they played
Speaker 2: high school basketball at Eastern Kentucky and went on to
Speaker 2: have good careers as players themselves. One was at Pikeville,
Speaker 2: the other ones at NKU, and they both got into coaching.
Speaker 2: And yeah, I think it's Ethan who just took over
Speaker 2: for Jared, the former head coach at Youngstown who's now
Speaker 2: at Utah State having a great run. So yeah, again,
Speaker 2: if you read to do other things on this beautiful
Speaker 2: evening now that you know it doesn't get dark at
Speaker 2: six o'clock, I get it. But me, I'm gonna hope
Speaker 2: the kids want to come in early so I can
Speaker 2: watch basketball games against teams that you know, some of
Speaker 2: you probably never even heard about. But I'm a sicko
Speaker 2: for it, and it'll be gone before too long, and
Speaker 2: then I'll be sad.
Speaker 3: All right, heavy, good night.
Speaker 2: Everybody will talk to you tomorrow right here on Sports
Speaker 2: Talk seven ninety